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Case Study: Virginia Hayward – Warehouse Safety for a Luxury Hamper Company
The challenge: Coexisting with forklifts in a busy warehouse
Virginia Hayward Ltd, a prominent player in the luxury wine and food hamper industry, faced a significant safety challenge within their bustling 440,000 square feet warehouse in Shaftesbury, Dorset. The primary safety concern revolved around their Goods-in area, where the coexistence of pedestrians and forklifts presented a constant challenge.
The operational workflow in this section required staff to check and decant stock almost immediately as lorries were being unloaded via forklift. Staff movement and machinery operation in this confined space meant that separating the two was not a feasible option. Before ZoneSafe installation, there were incidents reported involving near misses with forklifts, especially in areas where staff worked in proximity to blind corners or where forklifts couldn’t initially be seen.
Initial efforts to separate pedestrians and machinery in this specific area proved counterproductive. The company considered using physical barriers, but this approach severely hindered the efficient operation of forklifts, creating a hazard in its own right. Virginia Hayward, which already utilises standard safety measures like marked walkways and mirrors in its other units, needed a specialized solution that allowed people and machinery to coexist safely in this critical area.
The solution: An RFID-powered vehicle-to-person system
To address these critical safety risks, Virginia Hayward implemented the ZoneSafe vehicle-to-person proximity warning system. ZoneSafe conducted an on-site assessment and recommended a solution that involved fitting ZoneSafe proximity warning systems onto four forklift trucks operating within the warehouse. Each member of staff working in the same area as the forklifts also received a Vibratag (vibrating personnel tag). The ZoneSafe system provided the answer to their safety challenge, allowing them to have “people and machinery in the same place.”
The result: Heightened awareness and zero incidents
Since the implementation of ZoneSafe, Virginia Hayward has reported a dramatic reduction in near misses and accidents, with the occurrences in the Goods-in area falling to zero.
The innovative system quickly drove a cultural change. Employees became hyper-aware of forklift activity, alerted by the vibration tags even if they couldn’t hear the machinery. This heightened awareness extended site-wide, prompting staff to ensure greater use of existing pedestrian walkways and fostering a general increase in safety insight.
As Andy Conroy, H&S and Facilities Business Partner, confirmed: “Since the implementation of ZoneSafe, the occurrences of near misses or accidents have been reduced to zero.”
The long-term value of the system is clear, extending beyond safety statistics. By eliminating the risk of serious injuries, Virginia Hayward has also removed the substantial financial costs and potential liability claims associated with such incidents, as well as the detrimental impact on staff welfare. Conroy concluded: “There is a cost attached to the system, obviously, but for me, it’s kind of a no-brainer that the benefit far outweighs what the original cost was.”
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